‘Mufasa’ Takes Bigger Bite of the Christmas Day Box Office Than 'Nosferatu'

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Mufasa: The Lion King

Young Mufasa (Braelyn Rankins) and Young Taka (Theo Somolu) standing on the bank of a river

Families seem to be spending Christmas Day exploring how Mufasa became the King of the Pride Lands, as the prequel to 2019's The Lion King is now leading the pack after an underwhelming debut. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mufasa garnered $15 million during Christmas Day, ahead of Robert Egger’s gothic horror Nosferatu and Jeff Fowler's Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Nosferatu reportedly garnered $11.6 million, while the third Sonic movie earned $10.7 million. The latest number is quite a leap from Mufasa's previous revenue, having opened to $122 million worldwide during the first three days of theatrical release; it was projected to hit at least $180 million during its opening weekend. The Barry Jenkins-directed Disney pic is expecting a $50 million gross across the five-day holiday weekend.

‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ Debuted to Mixed Reviews

Along with its disappointing box office debut, Mufasa also earned mixed critical and audience reviews upon its release. While audiences seem to be approving of The Lion King prequel, with a current 88% audience score on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, critics were less generous, with only a 55% score as of this writing. The fact that there's a follow-up movie to the 2019 The Lion King didn't quite have major appeal critics and fans alike. The 2019 movie has raised eyebrows already, given that the 1994 2D-animated classic of the same name should've remained untouched, according to many.

Mufasa chronicles how Pride Rock became a place that the fan-favorite characters now call home. It centers on an orphan named Mufasa (the one who would be king) and a prince named Taka (the one who would become a villain known as Scar) as they search for their destinies and find a new home. The voice cast behind the prequel includes Aaron Pierre as Mufasa, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Billy Eichner as Timon, John Kani as Rafiki, and Donald Glover as Simba, among others.

Mufasa: The Lion King is now in theaters. You can revisit 2019's The Lion King, available to stream on Disney+.

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Simba, having become king of the Pride Lands, is determined for his cub to follow in his paw prints while the origins of his late father Mufasa are explored.

Release Date December 20, 2024

Director Barry Jenkins

Runtime 118 Minutes

Character(s) Mufasa , Taka , Sarabi , Young Rafiki , Zazu , Kiara , Rafiki , Kiros , Pumbaa , Timon

Writers Jeff Nathanson , Linda Woolverton , Irene Mecchi , Jonathan Roberts

Franchise Disney

Sequel The Lion King (2019)

Cinematographer James Laxton

Producer Mark Ceryak, Adele Romanski

Production Company Fairview Entertainment, Walt Disney Pictures

Distributor(s) Disney

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